12:15pm 31st May 1911. This article from the Irish Times describes some of the key elements:Thunderous cheers from the large crowd ( of ‘thousands’), sounds of rockets, and ‘Every ship in the Lough sounded its siren’. A huge wave as the ship hit the water, ‘the scene presented would be so inspiring and impressive’. This must have been a big day for the whole of Belfast, “I felt a great lump in my throat, and an enormous pride in being an Ulsterman.”